Organic semiconductors are the subject of intense research because of their potential for low-cost, flexible electronic devices. They have been employed in organic light-emitting diodes (oLEDs) and organic field-effect transistors (oFETs), and in circuits integrating multiple devices. Fabrication techniques such as ink-jet printing have helped reduce the cost of fabrication of these devices and integrated circuits using them.
Flexible electronics demand materials that meet mechanical requirements such as toughness and thermomechanical stability. However, some pure organic semiconducting materials with favorably high charge carrier mobility are relatively brittle in solid form, so the flexibility of a circuit using such materials may be limited. On the other hand, some materials with desirable mechanical properties may have unfavorably low charge carrier mobility. An organic semiconducting material is needed that combines the desirable properties of high carrier mobility, toughness and flexibility.